According to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the resident population increased last year to 10,467,366 people.

“The effective population growth rate was positive (0.44%) for the fourth consecutive year. The population increase seen in 2022 resulted from the increase in the migration growth rate to 0.83%, the highest value observed since 2017, as the natural growth rate remained negative, at -0.39%”, reveals INE.

INE estimates point to 117,843 permanent immigrants entering Portugal in 2022, 21.3% more than in 2021, at the same time that 30,954 people emigrated, 23.4% more than in the same period last year, which resulted in that, for the sixth consecutive year, the migration balance was positive (86,889 people).

“Of the total number of permanent immigrants: 62.2% were men; 51.2% had foreign nationality; 59.3% were born in a country outside the European Union; 70.2% previously resided in a non-European Union country; and 77.9% were people of working age (15 to 64 years old)”, says INE.

Nationality

It adds that in 2022 there were 46,229 foreign citizens who acquired Portuguese nationality, a figure 15.2% below that recorded in 2021, and among the total number, 20,844 acquisitions were from residents in Portugal and 25,385 from people residing abroad.

Regarding the birth rate and fertility, the organization reports that the synthetic fertility index (average number of living children born per woman of childbearing age, from 15 to 49 years of age) increased to 1.43 children for each woman.

On the other hand, 83,671 babies were born alive, children of mothers residing in the national territory, which represents an increase of 5.1% compared to 2021, a growth that “contributed to an increase in the gross birth rate, which went from 7.6 in 2021, to 8.0 live births per thousand inhabitants in 2022”, according to INE.

The general fertility rate was 37.97 live births per thousand women of childbearing age, compared to 35.79 in 2021.

Life expectancy

Regarding mortality and life expectancy, INE reports that the number of deaths decreased by 0.4% between 2021 and 2022, with 124,311 deaths of people residing in Portugal being recorded in the latter, while the crude mortality rate was 11.9 per thousand inhabitants, slightly lower than in 2021 (12.0%).

The infant mortality rate increased, from 2.4 deaths per thousand live births in 2021 to 2.6 in 2022, while 217 deaths were recorded during the first year of life, 24 more deaths than in 2021.

“Of all deaths of people residing in Portugal, 44.6% (43.3% in 2021) occurred at ages equal to or over 85 years old. In women, more than half (55.6%) of deaths occurred at the age of 85 or over (53.9% in 2021), while the majority of deaths among men still occurred at ages below 85 years (66.5% in 2022)”, reveals INE.

Life expectancy at birth remains very close to previous values, with an average estimate for 2020-2022 of 80.96 years. The average life expectancy for women is 83.52 years, while for men it is 78.05 years.

In terms of marriages and divorces, INE reports that last year there were 36,952 marriages, 27.2% more than in 2021, of which 801 were between people of the same sex, which is also a significant increase, of almost 46 %, compared to the previous year.

The number of divorces increased by 6.9% compared to 2021, with 18,464 marriages dissolved.